Michael studied music, focusing on jazz, at Berklee College of Music and Leeds College of Music before moving to Manchester, UK, in 2007 to be part of art pop band Everything Everything.

They have received widespread critical acclaim and in the UK have been nominated for the Mercury Prize and several Ivor Novello Awards, amongst others. As well as playing festivals such as Glastonbury several times, they have toured all over the world, including Europe, Japan, Russia, China, America and Australia.